Girls' School
by Michael2
Summary: A student at a private girls' school claims that other girls had set her up to be raped.
1. Chapter 1

The air is cold, if it is mingled with exhaust from motor vehicles. It is a spring afternoon in New York City's Manhattan borough. Don Adler works to trim the bushes at a house near the Gramercy Park neighborhood. He had been doing groundskeeping ever since he was sixteen. He can still remember that summer day, trimming the trees in Central Park.

_One of these days, my joints will be too busted up for this kind of work. _

He hears approaching footsteps amidst the noise of the nearby traffic. He wonders if those are the footsteps of a robber. He dismisses the idea- it is too early and he had a pair of garden shears, giving him a six-foot reach.

_Not that there _aren't _people crazy enough to try that._

He sees a dark-haired girl, with her hair and clothes disheveled.

Ooooooo

"Victim's name is Rachel Goldstein," says Officer Frank Murphy of the New York City Police Department. "She's seventeen and she's a student at the Temple beth Ariel; it's a private girls' school."

"The tuition must be out of my salary range," says the dark-haired woman in the suit.

The uniformed police officer leads the two detectives into a room. Two people are in the room. One of them is a nurse in her early thirties. She has experience dealing with victims of sexual assault.

"She's under sedation," says the nurse. "She was really hysterical when she was brought here."

A man in a suit looks at the victim. She had dark hair, and looks really young. She is dressed in a plaid skirt, a white blouse, and a black coat.

"Rachel," says the man. "I'm Detective Elliot Stabler, and this is my partner, Detective Olivia Benson. We're from the Special Victims Unit. Could you tell us what happened?"

"They, they raped me," says the girl.

"Who?" asks Benson.

"This man raped me and these girls from the school helped him."

The two detectives take two seconds to take in what Rachel had said.

"Do you know those girls?" asks Stabler.

"One of them is…Lucy," she says, as if she is detached from the world.

"A groundskeeper working across the street found her," says Officer Murphy. "He called the police at about 3:45."

It is another afternoon for the two detectives. They work for the Special Victims Unit, which handles sex crime cases for the New York City Police Department. At about in the afternoon, their boss, Captain Don Cragen, had sent them to this hospital to interview a rape victim.

"Is she all right?" asks a female voice.

Stabler and Benson turn and see a middle-aged couple wearing dark clothing. They appear to be in their late forties to early fifties, and the man has a prominent long beard.

"No," replies Detective Benson.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel Goldstein becomes more aware of her surroundings as the sedative wears off. Suddenly, the soreness between her legs hits her, and with that, memories of that afternoon. Being held down, the clothes being pulled off, the pain of that first penetration….

"No," she cries, knowing that the nightmare was true.

"Rachel," says her mother. "You're in a hospital. These two detectives want to ask you a few questions."

She looks at the two people, a man and a woman, both dressed in business attire. They look vaguely familiar to her.

"Detective Olivia Benson with the Special Victims Unit," says the woman. "This is Detective Stabler. Could you tell us what happened?"

Rachel replays some of the fresh painful memories of what had happened to her. Taking a few deep breaths, she manages to turn those memories into speech. "I was hiding in the bushes," she says. "I was looking for this girl, Lucy Horowitz. I knew she was using drugs, maybe dealing them, but I didn't have proof. I saw her and four other girls with this man and they gave his money and he gave them this stuff. It looked like white powder, maybe cocaine and heroin."

"Why were you hiding in the bushes?" asks Detective Elliot Stabler.

"I wanted to prove Lucy was using drugs. I took some pictures, and I intended to sneak away and have the pictures published before going to the principal. But they caught me and dragged me out of the bushes. Lucy told the girls to strip me. The other girls stripped me, held me down, and then that man raped me."

"What did the man look like?" asks Benson.

"Short-cropped blond hair, taller than me, maybe six feet," says Rachel. "He raped me and they made me suck him. Lucy and the girls kept calling me names like shitska and slut. My God…I'm not a virgin. I was saving myself for marriage."

Benson nods; the nurse had extracted semen samples from Rachel's vagina and mouth.

"Rachel," asks Stabler, "where is the camera?"

"I…I don't know. Maybe Lucy took it."

"Can you identify the girls?" asks Benson.

"Yes."

"Do you have a high school yearbook at home? I'd like you to look at some pictures."

ooooooo

TEMPLE BETH ARIEL GIRLS' SCHOOL

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25

School is starting, and the four hundred girls of Temple Beth Ariel all arrive for their morning classes. The school is over a century old, started by New York City's Jewish community. The girls all wear uniforms consisting of a plaid skirt, black coat, and a white blouse.

"This place looks much better than a state college," says Stabler. The walls look as if they had a fresh paint job recently. Hedgerows circle the schools' brick buildings.

Benson nods. They stand near classroom.

She stops one of the girls. "Are you Lucy Horowitz?" she asks.

The girl turns. She looks like an angel of light, just like the junior class yearbook photo showed. Stabler notices that her skirt is rolled up to reveal more of her legs.

"Yeah, what do you want?" the girl asks. "I got to get to class."

"No, you don't," says Benson. "Lucy Horowitz, you are under arrest for aiding and abetting a rape. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Oooooooo

Captain Donald Cragen of the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit looks through the window at the interrogation room. Stabler and Benson are in there with Lucy Horowitz, one of the five girls arrested at Temple Beth Ariel. The captain had been in charge of the Special Victims Unit since 1999. He watches the two detectives question the girl.

"So where were you when you got out of your last class?" asks Benson, standing inside the concrete-lined room.

"I just went to hang with my friends, that's all," replies Lucy.

"And you pinned a girl down so one of your buddies could rape her," says Stabler, throwing down a file folder on to the steel table.

"Who said I did?"

"_We're_ asking the questions here, young lady," snaps Benson. "Last afternoon, did you and your friends strip a girl, hold her down to help a man rape her?"

"That bitch Rachel Goldstein probably made the whole thing up," says Lucy.

"I did not mention any Rachel Goldstein," says Benson.

"You can stop your questioning," says a male voice.

Benson and Stabler turn to see a bald bespectacled man. "You are?" asks Stabler.

"Neil Rothman," he says. "I've just been hired as Miss Horowitz's attorney."

"Hi," says Lucy.

"I advise you not to say anything further to the police. Or to anyone else, even your parents. Excuse me, Detectives; I wish to discuss the situation with my client here."

Ooooooooo

Inside another interrogation room, Detective Odafin Tutuola, another detective in the Special Victims Unit, sits inside with another girl who had been arrested this morning.

"Did you hold down a girl so she could be raped?" asks the detective.

"No," cries Bethany Herschel. "I didn't do such a thing."

"So where were you last afternoon?"

"I was at school. I got out at around four o' clock when we were done with orchestra practice."

"Did anyone see you at practice?" asks Tutuola.

"My instructor, Linda Cerreta, saw me there. I was sitting next to my friend Hannah."

"Okay. Just stay there."

Tutuola leaves the room and speaks to a bespectacled man in a suit.

"I'll be making a few phone calls; I think she's telling the truth," says Tutuola.

"There might be someone else who looks like she'll crack," says Detective Sergeant John Munch.

Ooooooo

Color images of women in jumpsuits appear on the phosphorescent screen of the Toshiba television. Their eyes reveal a hardness and bitterness.

"That is what you face," says Detective Benson as she looks at the girl. "You're accused of participating in a rape; you can be tried as an adult. You will serve at least part of your sentence at a maximum security prison if you're convicted. It doesn't have to be that way, though. You're seventeen, and the D.A. can try you as a juvenile. We can talk to the D.A., keep the case in juvenile court if you agree to testify to what really happened?"

"What will happen if I go to juvenile court?" asks Miriam Scheiner.

"You'll probably do time in a juvenile facility, which is much better than prison," says Benson.

"So you want me to snitch on Lucy?"

"We didn't name anyone named Lucy," says Detective Stabler. "But we want the truth. No truth, no guarantee you won't be tried as an adult."

"Do you really think a little girl like you will thrive in prison?" asks Benson.

The entire SVU listens to Miriam.

"We were getting drugs from this dude, I think his name's Mark or Mike or Mac."

"What did he look like?"

"He was tall, with blond hair and a crew cut. He was giving us heroin. We sometimes dealt drugs to other girls for cash. We heard a noise in the bushes, and we found Rachel Goldstein there, hiding behind them."

Oooooooo

A finger presses the STOP button on the tape recorder.

"Just what we were listening for," says New York County Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot as she stands inside the SVU squad room.

"We also found some very interesting pictures," says Benson. "You might want to take a look."

"We still got a rapist out there," says Captain Cragen.

Oooooooo

BAIL HEARING

THURSDAY, MARCH 26

"The people ask for five hundred thousand dollars bail for each defendant," says Alexandra Cabot.

"That is excessive for girls these age," says Neil Rothman, standing in the courtroom with Lucy Horowitz and two other defendants and their lawyers.

"They come from wealthy families," says Cabot.

"Bail will be set for three hundred thousand dollars for each defendant," says the judge. "Next."

Ooooooooo

NEW YORK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE

"Let's get straight to the point," says Alexandra Cabot. "All three of you all belong in prison for what you did to Rachel Goldstein. However, there is a man, if you can call him that, out there who raped an underage teenaged girl. We may need your help"

She and the defendants and their attorneys all sit inside a conference room inside the offices of the New York County District Attorney. The room is simply furnished, with a long wooden table and some chairs.

"What are you offering?" asks Neil Rothman.

"An agreement to drop the aiding, abetting, and conspiracy charges in exchange for a guilty plea to accessory, on the condition that you provide information leading to the apprehension of the rapist and to testify against the rapist. You'll have much less prison time; maybe you will only get probation. If you do not want to help us, we go to trial. And then we show the jury these pictures."

Cabot places huge color photographs on the wooden table, photographs retrieved from Rachel's camera.

"Rachel's such a little slut for goy cock, isn't she?" remarks Lucy Horowitz.

"Keep quiet," Rothman says to her.

"Identify the man in these pictures, and we can cut a deal. We might only need one of you, by the way. If we catch him without your help, the deal is off. The arraignment is next week."

Ooooooo

FRIDAY, MARCH 27

The SVU squad room is a typical NYPD squad room, with desks and tables and file cabinets. Bulletins are posted on a bulletin board, including a few wanted posters. One of them contains a sketch of a man believed to have raped Rachel Goldstein.

A young bespectacled man enters the room. "I got something from the camera's flash drive," says Paul Sciuto, a computer technician with the NYPD. "Not surprisingly, whoever took the camera deleted some of the pictures, but I was able to recover the data. You see, when you delete a file, it isn't actually erased; it changes the directory so the data is marked as free space."

"Thank you," says Captain Cragen. "Show us the pictures."

Sciuto places the printouts of the photos onto an empty wooden desk, near a telephone. Detectives Benson and Stabler look at the pictures.

They can see the picture of a man meeting with some girls in the Temple Beth Ariel uniform. The image is partially obscured by shrubbery.

"Our friend Lucy is clearly seen," says Benson.

"We can't get a good look at the rapist's face," says Stabler, holding the picture close to his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

TEMPLE BETH ARIEL

SATURDAY, MARCH 28

"So this is where it happened," says Detective Olivia Benson.

She and Detective Elliot Stabler stand behind the bushes next to a brick building at Temple Beth Ariel High School. It is a crispy cold day, but not so cold that the two police detectives have to wear winter coats.

Stabler takes a closer look at the ground. "I can see some broken twigs," he says. He looks towards a window, the view of the empty classroom blocked by blinds, seeing only a reflection. He sees the seen in his mind's eye, imagining the girl being held upon the ground by five other girls as a man forcibly enters her.

His cell phone rings. "Hi Kathy," he says. "I'll be there for lunch. I just needed to check out a crime scene. See you at noon."

"Not much we can do here now," says Benson.

"I'm joining Kathy and the kids for lunch," replies Stabler. "See you later."

Oooooo

TEMPLE BETH ARIEL

MONDAY, MARCH 30

The Temple Beth Ariel Observer is published inside a classroom, and had been published in that same room for over a century, ever since the school's founding by Manhattan's Jewish community. The room currently has a few computers as well as Hewlett-Packard laser printers.

Rachel Goldstein sits at her wooden desk, a desk she has had since starting her senior year of high school. The school newspaper is an extracurricular activity, and the student staff work on the newspaper after their seventh period class. She looks at some of the articles that the other students had written.

Reporting was her passion; she wants to be a journalist.

Now the passion is gone. Ever since that horrible afternoon when both body and soul were violated, she has felt a cascade of terrible and confused feelings, like a series of storm clouds. She woke up one day whole, and went to bed broken.

And to think that girls could be capable of such abject cruelty.

Rachel feels that she will never feel whole again.

About an hour later, she leaves the school, a Jansport backpack on her back. She notices other people smiling, feeling safe. The neighborhood around Temple Beth Ariel is one of the safer neighborhoods in Manhattan. There is no feeling of security for Rachel.

It is then that she sees something posted on a light pole.

Ooooooo

HOROWITZ RESIDENCE

A bald man in a tuxedo opens the door, and Detectives Benson and Stabler look in. They had been inside before, when they conducted a search.

"We are here to see Lucy Horowitz," says Benson.

"Madam, I was instructed not to let the police in unless Mr. Neil Rothman is present. I will inform the residents that you are here."

The door shuts. The two detectives look around the foyer. The elegance of the foyer pales with their memories of being inside the penthouse. The Horowitz penthouse was as big as a two level condo, with the finest furniture available to anyone living in Manhattan. The floor near the front door was tiled with marble. And unless the place was remodeled within the last week, it should still look the same.

A man with a long brown beard appears at the door. "I suppose you do not have a warrant, Detectives," says Jacob Horowitz.

"We found some flyers with pictures from the camera your daughter stole," says Stabler. "Pictures of the rape."

"Are you going to arrest Lucy for what? Obscenity?" asks Jacob. "Oh, you don't have proof she was involved in that. If you want to ask questions, you'll have to wait until Mr. Rothman gets here."

"If Lucy tells us where to find that rapist, the prosecution will go easy on her," says Benson.

"You have no further business here, Detectives," says Jacob.

Ooooooo

SUPREME COURT

ARRAIGNMENT

TUESDAY, MARCH 31

The courtroom is a large room with a wooden bench for the judge and the witness in the back, a jury box on the right, two tables for prosecution and defense, and rows in the back for observers. The room had seen a wide variety of cases, ranging from petty theft to murder.

"Lucy Horowitz, Tammy Ashkenazi, Sarah Loeb, and Dinah Blumberg are charged with conspiracy in the first degree, and aiding and abetting rape in the first degree, and larceny," says a court officer in a crisp pressed uniform.

"How do the defendants plead?" asks the judge.

"Not guilty," says all of the four girls.

"Next case," says the judge as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot looks on.

Oooooooo

SVU SQUAD ROOM

"I wonder what could make these girls do this," says Alexandra Cabot, looking at the files.

"They have upper-middle to upper class upbringings," says Captain Don Cragen.

They and the other detectives of the Special Victims Unit look over the files containing information on the five girls believed to have held Rachel Goldstein down as she was raped. There is no record of the girls ever being arrested before last week. They review some of the information on the girls' family background, such as Sarah Loeb being an only child and Lucy Horowitz having an older brother attending UCLA.

"What about those flyers?" asks Cabot.

"Computer forensics found the images on Lucy's laptop," says Sergeant John Munch. "She uploaded the images onto this online photo album."

"Her prints weren't on _any _of the flyers we found," says Detective Odafin Tutuola. "Probably some punk kids saw the pics and decided it would be a great idea to print them out and plaster them all over Manhattan."

"Teenage boys aren't known for their maturity," says Detective Benson. "But these five girls..."

"We got Miriam Scheiner testifying for us," says Cabot. "Juvenile division is going to handle her case. Still, I wonder what would drive girls to assist in a rape of another girl."

"Lucy Horowitz is a spoiled brat," says a dark-haired man in the suit. The detectives glance at FBI Special Agent George Huang, who had been detached to the Special Victims Unit under Captain Cragen. "The other girls went along; she was the instigator. Her dad probably spoiled her, raised her with no boundaries, so she thought she could get away with whatever she did."

"She will learn differently," says Cabot.

Oooooooo

SUPREME COURT

TRIAL PART 2

MONDAY, APRIL 6

"Give the court your name for the record," says Alexandra Cabot.

"My name is Rachel Goldstein," says the girl in the witness box.

"And what school do you attend?"

"The Temple Beth Ariel School for Girls," replies Rachel. "I am a senior there."

"And are you involved in any extracurricular activities?"

"Yes, ma'am. I was with the school newspaper for three years and I was made editor my senior year."

"Miss Goldstein, have you ever met any of the defendants in this courtroom?"

Rachel looks at the four finely dressed girls sitting at the left side of the courtroom. "I know them by sight. I have known Lucy Horowitz since my freshman year."

"Were you close to any of them?"

"No, ma'am."

"Tell this court what happened on the afternoon of March 24."

"I was following Lucy that afternoon. I knew she was using drugs and dealing them to other kids, so I wanted to get proof. I hid in the bushes, and this man came to meet her and her friends."

"The man they met, what did he look like?" asks Cabot.

"He was tall, with a blond crew cut," replies Rachel. "I…I was taking pictures. After I took Lucy's picture, I tried to take a picture of the man's face, but they caught me. Lucy slapped me and took the camera."

"What happened next?"

Rachel looks around the courtroom, as if every eye is aimed at her. She glances at the judge and the court reporter and everyone else. She knows the pain of the memories that she would have to summon to answer the assistant district attorney's question.

"Lucy told the other girls to strip the bitch," she says.

"You being the bitch, is that correct?"

"Yes. The other girls pulled off all of my clothes and pulled my arms back. Lucy then started taking pictures of me. She told the man that I was uptight because I wasn't getting enough. The girls held me down and pulled by legs back. And then…"

"And then what?" asks Cabot.

"He…he raped me," says Rachel as tears flow down her cheeks, the emotions of that day surging once again. "It hurt so much. The other girls kept taunting me, calling me slut and shitska. After he came inside me, they made me suck him. It tasted horrible. They kept laughing at me and calling me names. After he was done, they dressed me and they walked away, laughing."

"Are these girls in the courtroom now?"

"Yes."

"I introduce People's Exhibit D, the pictures retrieved from Rachel's camera," says Cabot. "No further questions, your Honor."

Neil Rothman walks up to the witness stand. "I know this is a difficult time for you, Rachel," he says in a calm, soothing voice. "I've prosecuted rape cases before when I was with the district attorney's office. I've seen the pain and the shame rape victims feel. I want to ask you a few questions about what you said to the police. Do you know a Bethany Herschel?"

"The name doesn't sound familiar," says Rachel.

"Here is her picture," says the defense attorney, presenting a color photograph of the girl.

"She looks familiar."

"The evening after you were raped, you identified her as one of the girls that held you down. She was arrested, and later released when it was confirmed she had orchestra practice at the time."

"I didn't mean to…"

"No, you didn't. Rape causes huge psychological and emotional trauma. Such trauma can play tricks on people's memories, as it did with you. It is not your fault, Rachel. We know you misidentified Bethany Herschel as one of your assailants. Given your traumatized memory, how can you be sure of the girls here? How could you possibly know that Lucy Horowitz held you down."

"She didn't hold me down," says Rachel. "She told the other girls to hold me down."

"How do you know she was even there at the time? You were being held on the ground, being raped, everything was happening so fast. You were hoping it was just a hallucination instead of the nightmare it really was. Your very soul was violated."

"I know she was there. I know Lucy Horowitz was there."

"I have no further questions, your Honor," says Neil Rothman.

"I have a question," says another attorney. She walks up to the witness stand,.

"How well do you know Tammy Ashekenazi?" she asks.

"I know she hung out with Lucy," replies Rachel.

"Do you know her well?"

"No."

"You already misidentified someone as one of your assailants. Can you be certain that Tammy Ashkenazi was there?"

Rachel looks at the girls at the defense table. "I…I don't know."

"No further questions."

"We have no questions," say the other lawyers.

"Witness is excused," says the judge.

Rachel steps down, harrowed by having to relive that awful afternoon.

Oooooo

"Any thoughts?" asks Alexandra Cabot as she walks along the steps of the courthouse. Dozens of people walk up the steps and dozens walk down the steps on important business. A vendor on the sidewalk a few feet away sells hot dogs from a cart. A yellow Ford Crown Victoria taxicab picks up a man in a suit.

"It would have been easier if Lucy took your deal," says Neil Rothman. "I've known the family for years; I represented Lucy's father in a civil case a few years ago."

"Your cross was impressive, considering you didn't have much to work with. The offer is still on. If you can convince your client to help the police catch the rapist."

"She's not going to change her mind. To be honest, she's a spoiled brat. I have a son about her age; I would not let her near him."


	4. Chapter 4

SUPREME COURT

TRIAL PART 4

TUESDAY, APRIL 7

"We call Miriam Scheiner to the stand," says Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot.

A young-looking teenage girl with light brown hair walks up to the witness stand. She wears a dark blue dress. She glances nervously at the jury in their various styles of clothing, and at the defense table, with girls she had known for over five years. She is sworn in by the bailiff.

"State your name for the record," says Cabot.

"Miriam Scheiner, ma'am," replies the girl.

"Were you a student at the Temple Beth Ariel School for Girls?"

"I was, ma'am. I am suspended pending review for expulsion."

"Do you know all four of the defendants?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Tell this court what happened on the afternoon of March 26."

"Lucy, Sarah, Tammy, Dinah, and I were going to meet with this dude Lucy was into," answers Miriam.

"What was his name?"

"I think it was Mark or Mac or Mike. He gave us drugs."

"What kind of drugs did he give you?"

"Heroin, cocaine, meth. We would then sell it to other girls. We sold it at home, of course. We knew Lucy's dad would cover for her; he was a major donor to the school and we knew the school would look the other way."

"Did he give you the drugs?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And what happened after that?" asks the assistant district attorney. "Remember that you are under oath."

Miriam glances at her friends, noticing that Lucy is staring down at her. "We heard this noise in the bushes, and I went to check it out with Sarah," she says. "We found Rachel Goldstein behind the bushes, taking pictures of us. She was on Lucy's case, because Lucy kept getting away with things that would cause other girls to get in trouble. Lucy told us to strip her, and we did. I thought Lucy would just take pictures of her naked and post it on the 'Net or something. She had us pin her down and spread her legs open. When that man, Mac or Mike or Mark, pulled his pants down, I knew then that Lucy wanted more than just dirty pictures."

"Why didn't you stop?"

"It was happening so fast, it was like it was going on its own. We kept calling her names and teasing her."

"What did you say?" asks Cabot.

"We called her slut, whore, shitska," says Miriam. "We laughed at her about having uncircumcised cock in her mouth. I went along with it. I was scared, I guess. Lucy kept taking pictures as Rachel was being raped. After we were done, we dressed her and Lucy said something about Rachel's pussy being defiled by uncircumcised goy cock."

"You lying bitch slut!" yells Lucy Horowitz, standing up. Neil Rothman stares her down. Lucy quietly sits back on her chair.

"So you all helped that man rape Rachel," says Cabot.

"Yes," replies Miriam, a tear flowing down her cheek. "It was wrong, and I'm ashamed of myself. I know my parents raised me to be better."

"No further questions."

"Your witness," says the judge.

"How old are you?" asks Neil Rothman.

"Seventeen, sir," replies Miriam.

"Did the police ever tell you that you could be tried as an adult?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are you going to be tried as an adult?"

"No, sir."

"I see. And does that have anything to do with the fact that you are testifying in this courtroom?"

"Yes."

"Did the prosecutor cut a deal with you, to have your case handled by juvenile court in exchange for you testifying?"

"Yes."

"And the most the juvenile court can do to you is put you in juvie hall for a few years and you come out with a clean record."

"Yes."

"So you are telling my colleague Miss Cabot here what you think she wanted to hear to avoid getting into bigger trouble, to avoid a real prison."

"Objection," says Cabot. "Argumentative."

"Sustained," rules the judge.

"You did not agree to testify out of remorse for what you did, didn't you, Miss Scheiner? You agreed to testify just to avoid having to go to grown-up prison on your eighteenth birthday. Is that not correct, Miss Scheiner?"

"Yes, sir. And I know that if I am lying, the deal is off."

"I have no further questions."

Ooooooo

GOLDSTEIN RESIDENCE

THURSDAY, APRIL 9

Rachel Goldstein arrives at her home in Manhattan. She sets her Jansport backpack in her bedroom. Her bedroom has a bed, a desk-bookshelf combo, and posters about women's rights and the fight against terrorism. It had been sixteen days since that horrible afternoon. She has kept a count of the days since the rape, passing by the scene of the crime. She reflects on the past fourteen days. She had told no one of the rape besides her parents, her best friend, the police, and whoever was inside that courtroom on Monday.

The room is so quiet. There is no music playing in the room like she always did before. Looking back, she can see that she had become withdrawn, as if the joy was sapped out of her.

And then she has another flashback. Her clothes being stripped, the girls spreading her legs apart, that…thug forcing himself inside as the girls laugh and call her names. Alone in he room, she breaks down.

After what seems to be an eternity of grieving, she looks at herself in the mirror. She notices how unkempt her dark curly hair is. She had always groomed her hair neatly. She cries again, grieving for the person that she used to be.

And mixed with this grief is fear, fear that her rapist might come back for her.

She picks up the telephone's handset from its cradle.

Oooooo

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"It's something I have to do," Rachel says to her mom.

She walks to the front of the police precinct. Photographers and television cameramen are at the scene. Captain Don Cragen is standing in front of the door, along with Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler.

"Good afternoon," says Captain Cragen as the sky becomes more vivid due to the approaching sunset. "I am calling this press conference to ask the people of New York City to help us apprehend a man who raped a girl at the Temple Beth Ariel School for Girls. The victim of this rape has chosen to appear here."

Rachel stands next to Cragen. "My name is Rachel Goldstein," she says.

She then tells her story.

Ooooo

SUPREME COURT

FRIDAY, APRIL 10

"So you want a gag order against Rachel Goldstein?" asks the judge.

"Yes, your Honor," says Neil Rothman, sitting inside the judge's chambers. "Miss Goldstein's public appearance will be prejudicial to my client."

"The case against your client is prejudicial," replies Alexandra Cabot. "I mean, all you and your fellow defense lawyers have are character witnesses who were not even at the scene, while I have forensics as well as statements from the victim and one of the girls who assisted in the rape."

The judge nods, knowing that Cabot's statement is correct. "All evidence indicates that the rapist is still at large," she says. "This court will advise Miss Goldstein to choose her words carefully to avoid influencing the jury."

Ooooooo

SUPREME COURT

TRIAL PART 7

MONDAY, APRIL 13

"Mrs. Ashkenazi," asks the lawyer, a woman with tightly curled black hair and thick lips, "do you know the defendants?"

"Yes," replies the dark-haired woman sitting in the witness seat. "Sarah and Lucy have been friends with my daughter before high school. I've had them both over for dinner. I know Lucy's brother is attending UCLA- that's in Los Angeles."

"Have you ever met Rachel Goldstein?"

"No, I have not."

"Have you ever heard about what happened to her?"

"I heard there was a rape at the school, and then just last week Rachel went on TV, asking us to find the man who raped her."

"What do you think about what happened to her, Mrs. Ashkenazi?"

"It was horrible. That someone would do this to a girl, a Jew. Someone like my daughter."

"Would your daughter Tammy pin down a girl so a man can rape her?"

"She wouldn't," says Mrs. Ashkenazi in a plaintive voice. "My little girl wouldn't do that. I've known her, know her friends."

"No further questions," says the lawyer.

"Mrs. Ashkenazi, what is your occupation?" asks Alexandra Cabot.

"I manage an insurance brokerage office in Manhattan," she replies.

"And how many hours a week do you work, Mrs. Ashkenazi?"

"Ten to twelve hours a week."

"So it would be true to say supervise your daughter closely, is that correct?"

"No. I make sure to spend every weekend with Tammy and the others. I've had her friends over for dinner."

"Still, you do not supervise Tammy closely."

"No, I do not," admits Mrs. Ashkenazi. "I don't watch her every move, if that's what you mean."

Ooooooo

SUPREME COURT

TRIAL PART 9

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15

Rachel Goldstein sits in the courtroom, wearing a dark dress. This moment had come relatively quickly for her. Of course, the case was pretty open-and-shut. She is far from alone, as her parents, detectives from the SVU squad, and reporters are packing the back of the courtroom. Her heart races as the defendants rise.

The judge asks the jury how they find their case.

She watches the jury- a wide diverse set of people in various forms of dress- announce the verdict.

The jury convicts all defendants on all counts. Rachel feels some relief over this. The court has spoken; a jury told the whole world what those girls did to her.

The four girls who stood trial just stand in shock even as the bailiff leads them out of the courtroom, with photographers taking pictures with their expensive digital cameras.

Rachel hugs her parents, hugs them ever so tightly. She does not cry. And she does not flash back to that horrible afternoon. She feels that she is ten thousand miles closer to recovery.

Oooooo

"Good job, Alex," says New York County District Attorney Jack McCoy.

"It wasn't that hard of a case, since we had two compelling witnesses," says Alexandra Cabot.

The two lawyers sit inside McCoy's private office. A wooden desk serves as the office's centerpiece. A wooden bookshelf with books on various topics stands next to the door. The floor is covered in a soft carpet, soft enough to walk on barefoot. Cabot had become familiar with this office, and was being reacquainted ever since McCoy asked her to work for the district attorney's office following her leaving the witness protection program.

"Miriam Scheiner is due for a juvenile court hearing next month," adds Cabot.

"I am sure the juvenile division can handle it, especially if you lend them your notes," McCoy says with his gravelly voice. He puts on his eyeglasses. "There's still a rapist out there."

"Captain Cragen and his squad are still looking," says Cabot. "We might have to turn one of the four girls."

Ooooooo

STABLER RESIDENCE

Elliot Stabler finishes brushing his teeth and places his toothbrush in a toothbrush holder on the bathroom sink. He had just seen his youngest son, one-year-old Eli, off to sleep. He walks into the bedroom and joins his wife, Kathy in bed.

He had always connected with young victims of rape, seeing aspects of his children in them. He fantasized about killing pedophiles, even admitting it at one point.

But the girls who had just been convicted of conspiring to rape another girl change his worldview yet again. He had worried about his own children becoming victims, but until these past few weeks, he never even considered the possibility that they may choose to be victim_izers_. He did see aspects of his children in those four girls, as much as he did with Rachel Goldstein, although he would hate to admit such a thing.

He gets out of bed, going back into the bathroom and turning on the lights. He sees the reflection of a dark-haired man in his late forties once again. His attention briefly goes back to that horrible crime, recalling the victim, the perpetrators, and the scene.

He gets an idea.

"Elliot?" asks Kathy as her husband picks up a telephone.

Ooooooo

FRIDAY, APRIL 17

ROSE M. SINGER CENTER

RIKERS ISLAND CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

BRONX, NEW YORK

Lucy Horowitz sits inside the visiting room with her lawyer, Neil Rothman. She is dressed in an orange jumpsuit typically worn by inmates at the Rikers Island Correctional Facility, a jail operated by the City of New York. The jumpsuit makes a definite contrast with the stylish fashions she wore before she had been convicted and ordered to be incarcerated pending sentencing due to the nature of the crime. She misses wearing a skirt.

The room itself is barren save for a table and some chairs, unlike the rooms in the penthouse that she lived in for almost all of her life. She dwells on the kind of life she would have in prison, something she had dwelled on after hearing the jury's verdict. No more hanging out with the friends she grew up with, no more trips to the Hamptons or Miami or Acapulco.

She recognizes Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot as she walks in, becoming familiar with her face these past few weeks.

"We are ready to make a deal," says Rothman. "No prison, no jail time, in exchange, she cooperates."

Cabot places a photograph on the table, and Lucy's expression betrays her knowledge.

"Look familiar, Miss Horowitz?" asks Cabot. "That's your boyfriend, Michael McMurdock. You were careful not to take pictures of his face when you were taking pictures of the crime, but not careful enough to avoid taking a picture of his _reflection_. Once SVU identified him, we put a BOLO out and the NYPD arrested him this morning."

"Okay. Listen, I'll testify against him. Just get me out of here," pleads Lucy.

"Ever heard of DNA, Lucy? We only need to match him to the samples we took. And we have three other girls to testify. We certainly do not need you." Cabot stands up. "You are going to prison, and I will seek the maximum sentence. You had better learn how to like carpet cleaning."

"No wait!" cries Lucy, fear and terror and dread suddenly filling her. "You …you can't do this to me! Please don't send me to prison! I can't go to prison! I don't belong there!" Tears cover her eyes and flow down her cheeks. "I'll do anything! I beg you, please don't send me to prison!"

Alexandra Cabot walks away. Lucy stays in the room, crying over her future, crying over her fears of prison life, loudly crying over a fate that she feels that she does not deserve.


End file.
